No Name Saloon says goodbye to plastic

No Name Saloon, along with other restaurants owned by Diversified Bars and Restaurants, is implementing new green initiatives to reduce waste. Pictured above are its biodegradable to-go boxes, plates made out of palm leaves, paper straws, reusable coasters and aluminum cans, which will now be recycled.

Plastic no longer has a place at No Name Saloon & Grill.

The bar, which is owned by Jesse Shetler, is getting rid of all of its plastic straws, plates, utensils and bags. Its sister restaurants, Butcher's Chophouse and Bar and Boneyard Saloon & Wine Dive, are also joining the company's green initiative.

Matt Sullivan, production manager of Shetler's company Diversified Bars and Restaurants, which runs the establishments, said that the decision was made to reduce waste at the restaurants. The management team has been talking about making changes for a couple of years, and at last decided to take the leap.

"We're just trying to do what we can," he said. "It's the right thing to do."

Sullivan said that the change has been hard for several reasons. For one, buying plates made out of palm leaves and biodegradable to-go boxes and utensils is not as cheap as plastic. And since only paper straws are available and are only supplied upon request now, Sullivan said that some customers have been angry with the changes.

Lindsey Ninehouser, a server at No Name, said that she has gotten some negative responses, but usually, once she explains the reason, guests decline the straw and say that they support what the bar is doing.

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"We've gone through 300,000 straws in a year in the past," she said. "(Guests) are always so surprised at the number of straws we go through in a year. Whenever they think about everybody else on Main Street — and that is just one street — their brain clicks."

One of No Name's other changes is to add recycling, something they did not do before. Ninehouser, who said that she always felt guilty seeing the amount of waste the bar produces, is excited about the change.

Since the restaurants fill several recycling bins each night, Sullivan said that they had to hire a business to remove the recycled cans every morning. It's more time and money, but in the end, he said it will be worth it.

Sullivan said that Diversified Bars and Restaurants has implemented green initiatives throughout its past. A few years ago, paper cocktail napkins were replaced with reusable coasters and hand dryers were installed in the restrooms. In the future, he said that the company plans on continuing to roll out changes.